Bigwon
New member
hey folks!
so for the last couple years I've been going on and off trying to learn theory and think I've finally gotten past the modes bit.
I forgot what i was watching/doing at the time but until this one point i'd kind of just play using all 12 keys with a minor scale as a rough reference. It did good enough, i'd play off notes sparingly to give it a more sophisticated feel but at the end hardly knew how the hell i was doing any thing as i played it.
I've sort of got a grasp of progressions but besides one key (cminor) i couldn't really play at all and everything i was playing was sounding samey (except when i got lucky on certain chords and licks)
None of that is really important but gives a bit of context to what i'll be saying.
After finally getting a grasp of modes (albeit referencing them in a slightly different way) I find I'm able to have a good feel of how they work
Darker/Minor Modes
Aeolian - The Minor
Dorian - slightly brighter then minor (going from creepy church to airy autumn evening)
Phygrian - slightly darker then minor (going from creepy church to egyptian crypt)
Brighter/Major Modes
Ionian - The Major
Lydian - slightly brighter then major
Myxolodian - slightly darker then major
Neutral Modes
These in my mind are more or less just for tying up loose ends. (i.e keys not found in previous modes)
Blues Scale
Melodic Minor (ascending)
(Haven't found one for the sharped 3rd/flatted 4th coming to think of it)
I find when I'm playing something over a cliche jazz track i can stick to either 3 modes in each category while playing (depending on if it's a major or minor key) and have free reign over all 12 of the keys as opposed to just 8 and having anal theory to calculate how the other keys fit in context.
The way i find works for me is simply referencing them by going up/down the cycle of 5ths. I find that now when i'm playing a have a good reference for when I'm improvising or transposing songs/grooves up and down keys. In my case i find using the 3 dark/light scales as a good reference when playing a certain key, they also carry similar enough shapes to keep things intuitive.
I'm pretty music theory illiterate myself (besides basic scales/chords/cycle of 5ths/concept of dissonance) but with what i've got i find I've got a good amount now to know catch my bearings (thanks to the final click *modes) I've been sort of looking for a way to develop a playing style that is based more on intuition then theory, I don't know if theirs much of a conversation to be had out of this but i wouldn't mind working out some of the kinks in my logic, or perhaps work out a better way to explain whatever i'm talking about...hehe..
so for the last couple years I've been going on and off trying to learn theory and think I've finally gotten past the modes bit.
I forgot what i was watching/doing at the time but until this one point i'd kind of just play using all 12 keys with a minor scale as a rough reference. It did good enough, i'd play off notes sparingly to give it a more sophisticated feel but at the end hardly knew how the hell i was doing any thing as i played it.
I've sort of got a grasp of progressions but besides one key (cminor) i couldn't really play at all and everything i was playing was sounding samey (except when i got lucky on certain chords and licks)
None of that is really important but gives a bit of context to what i'll be saying.
After finally getting a grasp of modes (albeit referencing them in a slightly different way) I find I'm able to have a good feel of how they work
Darker/Minor Modes
Aeolian - The Minor
Dorian - slightly brighter then minor (going from creepy church to airy autumn evening)
Phygrian - slightly darker then minor (going from creepy church to egyptian crypt)
Brighter/Major Modes
Ionian - The Major
Lydian - slightly brighter then major
Myxolodian - slightly darker then major
Neutral Modes
These in my mind are more or less just for tying up loose ends. (i.e keys not found in previous modes)
Blues Scale
Melodic Minor (ascending)
(Haven't found one for the sharped 3rd/flatted 4th coming to think of it)
I find when I'm playing something over a cliche jazz track i can stick to either 3 modes in each category while playing (depending on if it's a major or minor key) and have free reign over all 12 of the keys as opposed to just 8 and having anal theory to calculate how the other keys fit in context.
The way i find works for me is simply referencing them by going up/down the cycle of 5ths. I find that now when i'm playing a have a good reference for when I'm improvising or transposing songs/grooves up and down keys. In my case i find using the 3 dark/light scales as a good reference when playing a certain key, they also carry similar enough shapes to keep things intuitive.
I'm pretty music theory illiterate myself (besides basic scales/chords/cycle of 5ths/concept of dissonance) but with what i've got i find I've got a good amount now to know catch my bearings (thanks to the final click *modes) I've been sort of looking for a way to develop a playing style that is based more on intuition then theory, I don't know if theirs much of a conversation to be had out of this but i wouldn't mind working out some of the kinks in my logic, or perhaps work out a better way to explain whatever i'm talking about...hehe..
